Rhythm, Blues, & Techno Tunes
by TCLindsay
Summary: Raf is a smart kid, but when that smart kid get's a new teacher involved in the war of the Cybertronians can he cope with the consequences? And when a new Autobot with medical supplies and an engineering processor arrives to earth does it prove that the human element is an aspect of the war that Megatron cannot ignore any longer?
1. Chapter 1

_Rhythm, _Blues, & Techno Tunes

If there were ever a time that a kid would find lunchtime terrifying, it was now. Rafael Esquivel, better known as Raf to his friends, was digging into his locker to pull out his backpack so he could go out and sit on the grass with both Jack Darby, and Miko Nakadai. He would need to go to the cafeteria first though to pick up his lunch and to that purpose he pulled out the five dollars his mom had given him, stuffing it into his jean pocket.

A shove to the back of his shoulder, his foot stepping on his shoelace, and toppling head-first into his own locker. Raf yelped in surprise as the door slammed directly after him, trapping him inside of the small space, standing on top of his books and crushing his homework. Raf turned around as much as he could, small fists pounding against the interior of his locker.

"Let me out of here!" he yelled, hands beating in a one-two rhythm against the metal of his locker.

"Well… that's gonna cost ya, big time Esquivel. How about we start with th' five dollars you have on ya, and the rest of your lunch money for the next three weeks?"

"Vince?" Raf said. "Vince this isn't funny, let me out of here." Neither Jack nor Miko would be anywhere near his locker. They'd already be outside waiting for him, and when Raf had gotten to his locker there was no one else in the hallway. If Vince didn't let him out, then Raf would be stuck in here until someone came for him.

"Ah-ah-ahh," intoned Vince, "I told ya, I'll let you out for three weeks of your lunch money kid." At least he didn't call him four-eyes. Raf thought it would have been rather cliché. "Oh, and if any teacher finds out about this, I'll bust those glasses of yours four-eyes." Well… Raf supposed he couldn't expect intelligence out of a bully, but that thought would have to come later. Right now he was just about ready to panic, in such a small space. It felt like the air was already getting musty; what if it caused him to have a panic attack?!

"Okay okay!" he yelled out at his tormentor. "Three weeks!"

"Make it five," countered Vince.

"Five? But you said three!"

"I just changed my mind."

"That's not fair!"

"Too bad, take it or leave it."

"Fine," Raf said, his voice catching. Why couldn't he ever stand up for himself? "J-just let me out." With the click of the handle on the locker Vince opened the door and looked down at the younger boy with a smug smile on his face.

"Well? First five bucks is due at—"

"Five bucks is due when, exactly?" said a voice behind Vince. Raf looked up, bewildered, and pushed the nose of his glasses up. Behind Vince was a girl. Her auburn hair was tightly braided against her head and then looped up. She was wearing a pair of thin-framed glasses, green eyes peeking out behind them as she stood on the opposite side of the hall. She had a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a blue jacket on over a tight fitting tank top. There was a slight smile on her lips.

"Hey, babe," said Vince. Caught off guard, but easily sliding back into his tough-guy mode. "Just hasslin' the kid, y'know how it is. It's what I do." He stopped, and then looked up and down at this woman, a smug smile crossing over his lips. "How about after I get the kid's money and put him back into this locker you and I go for a KO burger huh? The kid'll treat. Then maybe you could give me something huh?"

"Mmm, I could lie and say it sounds tempting, but what I expect you to give, is an apology," she said, standing up from the place she was leaning against the lockers on the opposite side of the hall. "Then I expect you to leave Rafael alone."

"Heh, look babe, I'm giving you a chance. I normally don't go with the four-eyed look. So take it or leave it. Either way I'm out of here soon as I get the kid's money." Raf winced and drew his hands up in fists closer to himself. He should have known that Vince wouldn't keep his word about letting him out, but he knew the bully would keep his word about wanting Raf's lunch money for five weeks.

"How about you take this instead?" Raf pushed himself up onto his tip-toes, looking at a yellow slip that she was holding out to Vince. Vince reached out his hand and took it, unfolding it and Raf saw him stiffening in front of him. Peeking over the much taller boy's shoulders (thanks to his math and history books) Raf saw that what she'd handed him was… a detention slip.

"Detention? For five weeks?" Vince said, in a voice that was just a squeak. He kept reading and his jaw dropped. "you can't do that!"

"I think you'll find that I can Vincent," said the woman. "My name is Terra Akala, and I'm your new dance instructor. The school decided they wanted a separate extracurricular activity that you kids could choose from other than the usual."

"But, five weeks?!" Vince almost yelled, swiping his hand aside. The new teacher didn't flinch, instead she walked forward, not bothering to wait for Vince who almost jumped out of the way, and helped lift Raf out of his locker and shut the door. It reminded Raf of a mother tiger protecting it's cub.

"I was going to give you three, but I just changed my mind," there was a smile in her voice, and when Raf looked up at her he could have sworn she'd winked at him! He turned to look at Vince who looked like he was ready to pound someone, most likely him. "Also, you will apologize to Rafael and promise never to do this again or that detention will become a suspension and a parent-teacher conference do you understand?"

Raf watched as Vince seemed to smolder. The bully got away with everything because he played the gentlemen for the female teachers, and did his best to look good to the male ones too. Here though was a teacher who wasn't fooled. Was that steam coming out of Vince's ears? Well, Raf supposed, a bully like Vince didn't really know how to use his brain. He was probably overworking it right now. The older boy reached out and slammed his hand against the lockers, he was being completely humiliated and Raf knew that he was going to pay for it after school.

"Yes ma'am…" said Vince. His eyes looking down at the floor, fist shaking as he said, "I'm sorry Raf I… I promise I won't do it again." Raf knew he would do it again as soon as the new teacher's back was turned, but it was nice to be given a reprieve once in a while. Vince then turned and ran down the length of the hall. Raf watched him go before he felt himself become red in the face. Reaching up a hand to scratch through his surprisingly long vertical hair he looked up at the teacher who'd come just in the nick of time.

"I uh, thanks…" said Raf. He felt really weird, why was this teacher so different then the others? She was a lot younger and he had a feeling that they could be friends. Maybe Jack and Miko too. "How'd you know he'd gotten me?"

"Honestly," she said, turning to lean against the lockers. "I didn't. I heard you yelling down the hall and came to check it out," she looked down at him and smiled. Kneeling down and holding out a hand. "So you're Rafael. I've heard a lot about you, you've got some impressive grades, but I can tell that the physical aspect isn't quite your cup of tea huh?"

"Uh, heh… yeah," Raf felt his cheeks burning. He was horrible at gym. It had took him a long time to ever get anything done. He looked up at her again, but then gasped. "Oh no!" Raf whipped himself around and dug into his backpack, pulling out the slim form of his computer and checking it over. Booting it up and running a couple of test files to make certain that nothing had been broken by the jostling. "Phew, it's safe. I was scared it'd break with me standing on it. I'm glad it didn't. I don't have enough saved up for a new one yet!"

"Well, you go on and get some lunch, I'm sure we'll see each other again Rafael," Raf finally took her hand and shook it. Smiling he turned and started walking towards the cafeteria, hesitating a moment and turning, but she was gone.

* * *

"So have you seen the new teacher yet? Oh, hey Raf… what took you so long? You lose your glasses again?" The snide and snickering tone of Miko greeted Raf as he joined them out on the lawn. He sighed and pushed his glasses up against the bridge of his nose again, Miko was always like that. Making fun of his glasses and nagging at him to get contacts. Jack looked up as Miko announced his presence and opened his mouth to ask Raf what had taken so long, but Miko beat him to it. "What? Did that jerk Vince lock you in your locker again? I swear one day I'm going to," Miko went off on a long tirade of things they'd often heard her telling Bulkhead she'd do to Vince if she ever had a chance. Of course, she never did make good on her word.

"Yeah Raf, what happened? Did Vince corner you again, he didn't take your lunch money did he? I have some extra if you need—"

"Oh, no, Vince didn't get it," Raf said.

"How'd you manage that?" asked Miko, suspicious.

"Well, y'know… Ms. Akala showed up and stopped him," said Raf.

"Who's that?" Jack asked, perplexed.

"Duh! Only the new teacher I've been telling you about! I had one of her classes this morning it was awesome! I never thought I'd like P.E. but I really had a blast with this one!" Miko jumped up as if to illustrate the dance moves she was trying to learn. "She's really young too! Like only twenty five and she's already a teacher! And she let me pull out my guitar and jam for everyone to free-style to!"

"A-anyway, Vince had me in the locker and wanted my lunch money for the next five weeks. He said three, but he lied and decided on five," Raf continued to explain how Ms. Akala had gone so far as to both humiliate and give Vince detention for the next five weeks. "The best part was when she said she was going to give him three weeks, but just like Vince said, she said she'd changed her mind."

"Whoa, a teacher who's standing up to Vince?" asked Miko.

"Yeah! And I can't wait to tell 'Bee about her."

"Whoa, whoa Raf, you know we shouldn't be talking about them at school," said Jack. Looking around, but the three were alone.

"I'm sorry Jack," Raf said, looking a little down. He'd been so excited he couldn't help but blurt it out.

"No, it's okay Raf," Jack reassured him. It was hard sometimes to forget that even though Raf was the smartest of them, he was still just a kid. "I just meant we have to be careful is all. I'm sure he'll love to hear about it though." Jack was rewarded with Raf smiling shyly at him before Raf was forced to push his glasses up onto his nose again.

"So anyway," said Miko, interrupting like usual. Both Jack and Raf met each other's eyes and rolled them, "She said that if we want we can do the dance class instead of P.E.! Yeah, said that in order to make up for the fact it's only three times a week we'd have to do a performance with the band this Christmas season and one more at the end of the year. I'm so signing up for that, she even said that I could do a guitar solo… well as long as she approves of it. Man you should see her music list, she's gotta have over three thousand mp3's!" And Miko went on and on until the boys were stuck just nodding their heads. Finally Miko let up and Jack turned to look at Raf.

"So Raf, you got any plans after school?"

"Well I thought I'd play some games," Raf said, meaning that he was going to go out on patrol with Bumblebee. He'd probably already have his homework done. Raf knew if he didn't get his homework done he'd be forced to stay home. He couldn't let his grades drop. Speaking of such things, Raf pulled out his computer and booted up the piece he was supposed to finish in history at the end of the next week. If he got started now, he should have it done soon enough to work on his next term paper.

"Nerd alert," mumbled Miko. Raf didn't bother talking to her about it. Miko barely passing any of her classes and Raf liked doing his homework. Even if history wasn't his favorite subject he still felt drawn to it. He had to admit Optimus was right, there was a lot to learn from the past and he found it interesting that the Darth and Cybertron seemed to have parallel histories, even if the Earth's wars were far smaller and with less consequence then Cybertron's wars.

While Raf continued on with researching the civil war, Jack and Miko went on to argue about what really made music what it was. There was no love lost between the two and Jack did not like Miko's form of music, while Miko claimed that the music Jack listened to lacked any real talent. From that point on Raf tuned them out in order to start on the premise of his report. He wanted to look at the civil war from a psychological point of view, while there was no tech involved and he wished he could choose something closer to recent time, it was still an interesting subject and one he thought he may enjoy learning about. Raf had heard a lot of arguments that war was part of the human design, but he really had to disagree. He'd rather sit down and work on a complicated set of coding then go out and… hurt someone. If that was so, and if it was supposed to be an inbred trait then why did not all humans feel the need to fight and battle?

He intended to compare it to bullying in recent times as well as a counter point to his own to show that he was doing research, and connecting it to the civil war wasn't very hard. It was easy to use a metaphor to say that Great Britain was the bully and the 13 colonies the ones being bullied. For a moment, Raf felt rather sheepish about how he thought about Megatron and the workers of Cybertron in the caste system. He always felt that, compared to what they must have gone through for so long, his own problems were so… small, just like he was. His head hung down as he thought about it, looking off to one side. Thinking about Megatron and the Decepticons scared him. He remembered what it was like when the Vechicons had captured him and Jack. He'd been so scared, so helpless. He'd tried, pushing at fingers made of metal, his legs kicking in the air…

"Hey, hey Raf you okay?" Jack's voice cut into his thought process and Raf realized he'd stopped typing. Raf pulled his glasses off and wiped them down with a cloth from his pocket before putting them back on. Looking up at Jack he smiled; why couldn't he be brave like Jack was? Jack had actually jumped in to save him from being shot.

"Yeah, I'm… I'm okay," Raf looked up as he heard the bell tolling for afternoon classes. At least he wouldn't have to explain why he'd so suddenly gone white under his already pale complexion. Raf shut his computer and put it into his backpack, with gym being next he knew he wasn't going to need it. The coach was probably going to make them run the surrounding of the school again today. The coach was a good guy, as far as jocks go Raf supposed, but P.E. was his worst class. All the bigger kids laughed at him when he tried to do anything, and he was too small to do the same things the high school kids could. In some ways it wasn't so fun being put into a high school instead of grade school. If he was the same size as the other kids he'd do just fine, but here he wasn't.

"Alright, see you after school Raf," Jack said, getting up and dusting himself off. He picked up his text books.

"What about-" Raf was about to ask.

"Detention," Jack said with a grin, looking to the younger girl who was sitting cross-armed with a pout on her face, lip jutting out. She also got up and snagged her guitar, hitting Jack on the shoulder.

"Hey, what was that for?" And off the two went, arguing back and forth. Raf sighed and soon fell behind the two teens. Raf pulled his backpack up and hesitated, he felt weird like he was being watched. Raf turned around, pushing his glasses up on his nose, but when nothing met his eye he gripped onto the shoulder strap of his pack and ran to catch up with the eldest humans of Team Prime.

* * *

"Mr. Esquivel please come to the principal's office," said the voice of their secretary over the intercom. Raf looked up as he was about to go into the men's locker room with a startled expression. He was never called to the principal's office. With the other boys looking at him and laughing about how the Nerd was finally in trouble Raf shouldered his backpack again and looked down at his sneakers. What could he have done? Had he missed out on a piece of homework while he'd been playing video games with 'Bee? Raf made his way down to the principal's office and was forced to sit down and wait until he was finally called in.

"Mr. Esquivel," said Principal Myers as he walked in. Raf looked up at the older gentleman who was their principal. He'd only ever seen him when Raf was given academic awards or when he was walking the halls. "Thank you for coming so promptly," he continued. "Now, I want to assure you, you are not in trouble young man. Far from it, instead our newest arrival happened to have an idea on how to help you with your P.E. grade. We don't want our star pupil to lose his standing just because of a bit of sweat."

Mr. Myers wasn't the kind of principal to really care about his students, but where Raf was concerned he would make acceptations. Raf held the highest G.P.A. in the high school, and was well on his way to college level courses. It was everything the school could do to continue to provide the necessary materials to keep the child here so that their funding wouldn't go down. As far as principals go, he was the Megatron of the school. The thought made Raf smile, but it was thankfully excused for relief at not being in trouble.

"O-oh?" he asked, his voice stuttering. He was nervous, what would they have him do instead? All the students had to take P.E. It was required by the School Board.

"Yes. Ms. Akala, who I know you met earlier, has requested that you join her dance class, it's a more structured P.E. class, but I believe you two can work things out how to keep your grades up." Raf turned to look at Ms. Akala, she rolled her eyes and was actually mimicking what the principal said behind his back. She stopped and then smiled at Raf, obviously not impressed with Mr. Myers. Rather than let him explain, she stepped forward and knelt down so she was at Raf's level. She'd taken her glasses off and Raf had an easier time seeing the green color of her eyes.

"We thought it'd be easier for you to be in a class that's, well, more about an art form then physical strain," he smiled, she seemed just as nice now as she did earlier, "But it's up to you Rafael. I've got a class just about to start outside if you'd like to join in for today to see what you think?"

"Y-yeah, that'd be great!" he said, honestly excited. He looked at Mr. Myers, but before he could thank him Ms. Akala grabbed her own duffle bag and opened the door. Raf just smiled and walked out with her. At least he wouldn't have to listen to Mr. Myers academic speech he gave to all the students.

* * *

"You refuse my orders?" the high pitched, yet commanding voice, of Starscream echoed through the halls. "My plan is perfectly logical. Lord Megatron would approve if he were not surveying the mine. With this new satellite the humans have constructed it would be child's play to track the Autobots to their hidden base. We merely need the proper access codes to use it to our advantage."

The mech he was speaking to remained eerily silent. Starscream had gone on for almost a jour about his plan to utilize the satellite to discover the Autobot's hidden base. The mech had already downloaded the schematics and had ascertained that the satalite was most likely not potent enough to find the Autobots and therefore would be a waste of resources and personnel should the Autobots intervene, but as always it was not a simple task to deter Starscream from a scheme that would grant him glory and honor among the Decepticon ranks. With their Lord gone for an extended period of time in order to oversee the construction of their new mine himself he had left his second in command in charge of the War ship Nemesis. Soundwave was currently monitoring the communications across the planet below, in search of anything remotely interesting or potentially useful. As well as keeping tabs on the entirety of the ship and its crew. None would be allowed to slack, and no work for their Lord.

"Soundwave I am attempting to help our Lord by snuffing out the insects that plague this world and seek to usurp his position," Starscream gestured gracefully with his long talons as he spoke. Yes, the Second in Command could be very persuasive, though his charisma was not as potent as Megatron's own. Megatron, who had moved an entire planet with his strive to free his people; a fallen hero indeed.

"Fine, return to your post," Starscream finally growled, turning to stalk his way down the hall until he came to the command center. His optics traversed the vehicons at their stations before he stepped up to another terminal and began digging into the archives and information the Decepticons had learned of the Autobots now stationed on earth. He knew that among them there were a few human youths who had become involved when Megatron had returned with the Dark Energon. Though the humans seemed useless, Soundwave had still collected a file on each of them. Detailing their abilities and skills… ah, yes, this was the boy he was looking for.

Rafael Esquivel. Age twelve. Starscream smiled to himself as he continued to read the file and watch the video feed. This… child had managed to hold Soundwave, the communications officer and data miner of the Decepticons, at bay while the Autobots had fought on the Space Bridge? Intrigued Starscream watched the small data clip that Soundwave had recently compiled of the boy. His school was listed, along with the Autobot who seemed to have been placed as his guardian. Bumblebee hmm? The Scout might be quite skilled in his field of expertise, but against Starscream, leader of an armada of Energon Seekers, he stood little chance. Better yet if the Autobot was unable to attend to his young charge.

Starscream continued to study the file. That a small human like this would be able to hold Soundwave at bay via his own technical skills with a computer it was absurd. Yet the human had done so, but why had Soundwave not killed the child? Soundwave's skill in battle could rival Megatron's own. He was ruthless, silent in the kill, yet he had a chance to kill the three humans who accompanied the Autobots. He had held his hand in check, why? Where these three humans a possible asset to the Decepticons in the future? Yes. Starscream could see Soundwave's reasoning. The humans were an open weakness in the Autobot's armor that the Decepticons could exploit when need be. Of course Megatron would not see such a course of action prudent unless he had great need. Megatron wasn't one for hostages, but perhaps one day he could be persuaded. In the meantime Starscream found that one particular out of the group would be quite useful, but he would have to be careful. Soundwave may already know that he was looking at these files, so to hopefully throw their Data Miner off the 'scent' per-se and opened the rest of the Autobot files.

He spent several earth hours acquainting himself with the terrestrial guises of the Autobots. The plant often had strange fluctuations in the poles, along with the odd aspect of what the humans called the Aurora Borealis, along with solar flares the planet was filed with possible scanner-scrambling phenomena. In conclusion he decided that it would be best to memorize and store the particular style of each Autobot's terrestrial guise to his memory banks in case of such a happening. At least that is what he appeared to be doing. Yes, it would not be so difficult to outsmart the eyes and ears of the Decepticons. Why he had been so frightened by such a 'con was beyond him. Soundwave was a glorified memory bank now and nothing more, as useful as any tool.

Finished with his 'research' the SIC of the Decepticons placed his hands behind his back and turned to patrol the ship. Insuring in his own way that the troops were doing as they were meant to. If this were his ship such patrols would be useless. Either the troops did their work, or they were jettisoned without the ability to fly. His patrol, lastly, lead him to the landing platform at the top of the ship. Alone, and without any obvious prying optics Starscream transformed and with a burst from his thrusters rocketed up and into the sky.

The visual screen of Soundwave surveyed the landing platform as Starscream took off on his errant mission. Specs and information began to scroll across his facial plate before a singular image took its place. The be-speckled picture of Rafael Esquivel; with a silent order to two vehicons Soundwave stepped up to the bridge control to contact his master.

* * *

Raf couldn't remember a day when his P.E. class had been more enjoyable then his Computer Programming course. He'd spent the entire time working on both his computer and Terra's, as she insisted all her students call her, computer in order to copy over the mp3's so that he could help with the mixing of tracks for the dance classes. The only thing, and he knew it was the only thing, that could ruin his day was the message he received shortly after school that Bumblebee and the other Autobots were preoccupied with fighting the Decepticons and 'Bee would be unavailable to pick him up after school. Raf sighed and shouldered his backpack. It was easy enough to walk home and he did have homework to do and unlike Jack or Miko he intended to have it finished and handed in within the next few days. The pair was already walking home, but he and the other two lived in different directions.

When he was only a block and a half away from his house a rumbling engine caught his attention. A massive truck rolled up next to the curve making Raf blink his eyes, quickly scanning the vehicle for any kind of insignia. He knew Breakdown had some kind of massive truck form, but this one wasn't the right color. Breakdown was blue, and this one was a deep candy red with a spider design on the hood and spider webs coating across the sides. Raf adjusted his glasses and his backpack as the window rolled down and Ms.-erm, Terra's head popped out the window.

"Hey Raf, you want a ride kiddo?" Terra said with a smile, keeping her elbow propped on the side of the truck. Raf had never seen a thing so massive driven by a human. He looked up at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm almost home, I'll be fine," he said, but when he looked back at her he thought he saw a flicker of concern move over her features. Her eyes darted to the rearview mirror and then back at him… what was she worried about?

"Hey it's fine, look I wanted to ask you about something with my computer anyway. I've been having a hard time keeping it up to date and running smooth, I thought maybe you'd be willing to help. I've got twenty or so bucks if you'd like payment for it." Her eyes looked to the rear view mirror and Raf finally took a look down the street, and swallowed.

Down the street a pair of dark purple and black vehicles was parked just off to the side of the road, but even from here he could hear the engines rumbling. The Decepticon symbol emblazoned on their hoods. Raf paled as he looked up at the massive truck and the teacher who was offering him a ride. He couldn't pull out his cell to call Ratchet, not with her here, but if he told her he would be okay… Raf could hear the engines of the two 'cars' rev, they were ready to drive right up to him.

"Y-yeah… sure," he said. He watched as her eyes widened, realizing that he knew why she'd made the offer. Maybe she didn't know exactly what was behind them, but she knew that they were following him. He climbed up onto the steps of the massive truck and hopped into the passenger side seat before buckling up. He was already sweating as Terra rolled up the window and brought the massive truck into drive. It was a clutch drive, and she easily brought it up to speed on the small street. No sooner had she pulled out that the two vehicles behind them had done the same thing.

"Raf," she said quietly, the music playing gently in the background, draping an arm against the door to appear relaxed, "do you know why those two would be following you?" Raf squirmed in his seat. He knew why, but he'd promised Optimus that he wouldn't tell anyone, so instead he shook his head and swallowed. "Hey, it's alright," she said soothingly before moving just a little to pull something out of her glove box. It was a gun.

"No-" he said quietly, moving a little, "you should put that away," Raf said quietly.

"… alright," she said, sliding the weapon back into the dash. "I keep it in the truck all the time just in case, but… I'll leave it there for now." Instead she brought her hands up onto the steering wheel and signaled to take a right turn. The vehicles behind them did the same. Her eyes narrowed as she drove down the next three blocks. Another right hand turn, and then a third; by this time there was no doubt in her mind that these two were following Raf now that he was in her vehicle.

"Commander Soundwave," said one of the vehicons over the comm. System. "The boy has joined with another human female, your orders?" There was a pause, "understood."

Raf looked at the mirror as Terra turned right for a fourth time, but this time she was heading out on the highway that lead out of town. She tensed when she realized her mistake, but instead of saying anything she brought the truck up a gear and started to speed up. The roar of the diesel engine echoed even inside of the vehicle as it smoothly transitioned into gear and sped up. His eyes stayed on the mirror as the pair of cars also began to speed up and one moved into the oncoming lane.

"Not good," he said quietly, looking over at Terra, but she was too busy concentrating to speak to him. Her knuckles were white on the steering wheel, but she was otherwise calm at least she looked to be. One of the vehicons was speeding up and catching up to the side of her truck. In comparison the vehicon's own form was dwarfed by the massive size of the truck which Raf half wondered weighed as much as a semi-truck. It drove closer, the side bumping her truck for just a moment. Terra's eyes turned to look at the driver and then into the rear view mirror. Raf could see her jaw working, her eyes concentrating on the vehicon behind them as it sped up to touch her bumper. With a sudden movement of her leg she slammed down on the clutch and adjusted the trucks gears before whipping the wheel over to one side, hands flying over one another as the nose of her truck slammed into the front of the lead vehicon.

The sheer size of the truck had the vehicon giving it space, it was heavy and the driver knew it. They also did not dare make the vehicle crash for fear of upsetting their commanding officer. Soundwave was as ruthless as Megatron and even though Soundwave was not known for off-lining failing troops the pair did not wish to experience such a thing first servo. Their orders were to flank the vehicle until Soundwave put up a Ground Bridge to bring the humans aboard the Nemesis. They were supposed to use an electric surge to knock out the passenger and driver, but at these speeds and the way the driver was intent on knocking them off the road, they surmised to protect the Sparkling human, it was a dangerous thing to knock the driver unconscious.

Allowing himself some more speed, 147 corrected his movements as 746 touched the bumper of the larger vehicle a second time. What they could do was send the vehicle into a controlled spin, use the electric pulse to send both occupants into the human version of stasis, transform, steady the vehicle, and carry it on board the Nemesis.

The plan was approved silently by their commander as 147 slowed his pace to come up to the corner of the truck's bumper. 746 also limited his thrust and fell behind to allow 147 the room he would need to maneuver. He turned, sharp, smashing the front end of his own vehicle form against the rear bumper of the truck, he spun around and lined himself up behind his partner as 746 sped up and slammed against the vehicles side as it started to turn in place. For a moment they could see the driver turn to look out the window, human opitics wide with fear and surprise her hands moved swiftly on the wheel in front of her, turning against the direction the truck was moving. 746 barely glanced against the side of the truck as the human, through blind luck, righted the large cumbersome device.

The groan and roar of the vehicle in front of them told both 147 and 746 that the vehicle was not meant for such a chase. It's acceleration on the highway was impressive, as was its weight, but it was not meant for sharp maneuvers. It was a powerhouse, much like Commander Breakdown. Meant to smash into objects and plow through, not nimbly maneuver around faster vehicles.

The sudden and audio-crackling sound of thrusters caught on their radar. Commander Starscream had found the human they were currently tracking. Both vehicons hesitated, but as the command came from Soundwave to depart, they did so. Soundwave, unlike Megatron or Starscream, understood that a pair of vehicons stood no chance against long seasoned Decepticons or Autobots such as the Prime. They slowed and spun on their front tires to turn and drive in the opposite direction.

_… to be continued_


	2. Chapter 2

Rhythm Blues & Techno Tunes

Chapter 2

"They're going away," said Raf. He was watching through the side view mirror as the pair of Vehicons turned and drove in the opposite direction. "I don't get it," he mumbled to himself before pulling out his cell phone to text Ratchet the situation.

"It doesn't matter; we're going to keep driving for a while." Terra said. Raf turned to look at her, but her eyes were on the road and her hands were still tight around the wheel. She was shaking, but Raf couldn't tell if she was afraid or angry.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Pushing his glasses up onto his nose again; they had slipped of when the truck had been hit in the rear bumper, his backpack had fallen to the floor too. He reached down and picked it up hugging it to his chest.

"Raf…" she asked, "why would someone be after you, especially in a small town like this. I know that small towns aren't as safe as people make them out to be, but this wasn't right." He couldn't tell her. He couldn't tell her about the Autobots or Decepticons.

"I-I don't know," he said and it was the truth. He didn't know why the Decepticons would suddenly be interested in him. They hadn't yet actually come after him or the others, not after what happened with Knock Out and Vince. Raf was shaking at this point as he hugged his backpack to his chest.

"Raf, this is important. Is there anyone you could call who— " Terra was cut off by a massive shriek and a blur of silver in front of her truck. With a yell and scream Terra pulled on the steering wheel sending the truck into a spin on the tarmac, wheels screeching. Neither Raf or Terra had a chance to do anything more before the silver blur was back, nicking the top of the truck and sending it spinning through the air in a barrel roll.

The vehicle bounced several times before it came to a jarring stop on its back. Raf was holding tight to his backpack when he heard a familiar cackling. He opened his eyes and saw the massive form of Starscream standing in front of them with one foot on the truck's under carriage. Raf shook even harder as he looks over to Terra, but his teacher seemed to have been knocked unconscious; blood was dripping from her hair line as she dangled from her seat belt. Rafael looked up and swallowed as Starscream bent down and grabbed both sides of the truck and picked it up.

"Peek-a-boo," he said in a mocking tone. Raf swallowed hard, only reflex had him pushing his glasses back up onto his nose before Starscream slammed the truck down on its tires again. With a screech of metal on metal he forced the tips of his sharp fingers in against the door of the truck, ripping it off its hinges. Raf opened his eyes wider, pulling at his seat belt as Starscream reached for him. By luck or by chance the Decepticon's claws ripped through the seatbelt.

"Come out of there you little vermin," his claws scratched against the broken glass of the truck, sending splinters flying at Raf and Terra. Rafael held tight to his backpack once more before he slung it on his back. Starscream was after him, he had to lead him away from his teacher!

"Either you come out or I come in after you and your friend," Starscream said, a snarl in his voice. Raf swallowed one more time before shoving himself out of the truck directly under Starscream's hand. He crashed on the ground, dirt flying everywhere as he coughed and sputtered. His hands scraped against the desert ground before he pushed himself up and ran as fast as his short little legs could carry him, but he was rewarded with a chuckle and the sound of Starscream putting the truck down to turn and follow him.

"Are we running away?" Starscream said as he started to follow the boy at a leisurely walk. He could catch the boy in a manner of seconds, but this was far too amusing that the boy thought he could escape him. In only a matter of three steps he already had the boy within range, allowing his pedes to smash down into the ground closer to the fleeing fleshy. He heard a scream of terror from the tiny form. His claws came down tripping the human sparkling and sending him face-first into the dirt. "You cannot escape me."

Metal screeched, the rev of a powerful engine filled the air. A sudden impact, red blurred with silver as something smashed into the tall Cybertronian's legs. A pair of green eyes furious and terrified both, white knuckled on the steering wheel as the SIC of the Decepticons was sent toppling backwards onto the bed of a truck he had thought he'd neutralized. A shout followed from a human escaping out of the door of the truck running towards the boy. Tucking in and literally sweeping the boy off his feet as her longer strides sent her racing away from Starscream at a faster pace than the boy could manage.

"You filthy vermin!" he shrieked. His claws made short work of the vehicle that he'd landed on top of. As he stood he looked up as a second jet came careening down towards the fleeing humans. "Streamline, it's about time." Starscream dusted himself off and watched as Streamline, one of his seekers, shot up into the air and transformed mid-fall to land down in front of the humans.

"Unable to handle a pair of pests Commander Starscream?" said the second seeker, his clawed servo swiping down at the ground in front of the humans. The elder human took several stumbling steps back before she fell, holding the smaller boy in her arms.

"Y-you gotta get out of here," said Raf, trying to push her arms away from him. The Decepticons weren't after her, and they'd kill her if she kept interfering, but Terra didn't let him go instead she got up onto her feet and backed away from being between the pair as they walked forward, standing side by side and looking down at her and Raf. She set him down and put him behind her, placing a hand out to make him stay. All Raf could do now was whimper in fear, it didn't matter if she ran now, the 'cons knew she'd seen them. He leaned against her leg instead, seeking to stay out of the vision of the 'cons.

"I'm not going anywhere, Raf," she said. Starscream noted the wavering in her voice, but this particular human was filled with bravado. He had, by extension of Soundwave's study of the human species, learned that their females were particularly protective of their kind's sparklings. So it did not surprise him to hear the hard edge of anger in her voice, but the quaver of fear was still there. A slow grin spread across his face before the moment was ruined by Streamline. The other Decepticon knelt down and reached out a servo to touch the pair, but with a quick blur of movement the female pulled out a primitive piece of artillery from her back and pointed it directly up in the mech's face.

"I don't care what you are," she said, "a shot to the eyes will still hurt." The human was not far off, with Streamline bent so far down she had a direct shot to his optics. The mech scoffed and swept his claws forward, knocking the pair backwards again, sending the weapon skittering across the sand before Starscream promptly stepped on the weak metal; crushing it. His optics turned back to the female who had helped the boy up again before stepping in front of him.

Streamline reached forward and shoved the small child away with his claws, watching in amusement as the female tried to jump up and over his servo to reach the boy, he could feel the faint scrabbling of her feet and hands over his metal hand. She succeeded in jumping over his servo, but as she reached out to the boy his clawed digits curled through the long fibers coming from her head. Pulling on it had her stumbling backwards with the boy crying out in protest. Streamline didn't stop and picked up the female by those strange fibers, dangling her in front of his commander with a cackle as she cried out in pain, her hands reaching up and taking hold of the fibers herself, pulling herself up to relive the pressure on her primitive skull.

"If I said it followed me to the ship, could I keep it?" He asked, his optics brightening in crazed humor. Always one for the extremes was Streamline. The seeker found the human race pathetic, but amusing at the same time. With a soft movement of his servo he had the young woman swaying back and forth in front of him.

"Put her down you're hurting her," Raf ran up and started to hit his tiny fists against Streamline's pede, trying to get him to listen. His glasses were askew of his nose and his hair was filled with dust. Starscream rolled his optics and stepped up, leaning down and spreading his long claws out and wrapping them around the human's delicate body. Raf yelped, his hands grabbing at the edge of Starscream's fingers to try and hold himself up as the SIC's claws trapped his small body, his feet barely sticking out from the Decepticon's servo.

"Streamline stop playing with the human," Starscream snapped as he stood back up. Streamline had the female dangling in front of his faceplates, seeing how close he could get her before she'd scream. Instead he took her shoe to his face plates. Rather than glower at the human or toss her aside as Starscream might the mech roared with laughter at the pathetic attempt.

"Commander, what is it you wish to do with the fleshies now?" He questioned, looking to the boy and the young woman. Curious what two pathetic creatures like these could provide to the Commander of the Decepticon Seeker Armada. They were fragile, frightened easily, though they seemed to provide with some amusement. Even now the human femme's heart rate had tripled after he'd grasped her in his hand. He wondered why.

"The boy will be aiding me with a small project," said Starscream, bringing the boy up to optic level. The child's corrective lenses had fallen down his nose. Starscream used the tip of his claw to push them up to their proper place and snickered when the child flinched and whimpered in fear. Yes, this child would be simple to intimidate into acting on his behalf, unlike that Primus slagged fool Fowler. "Bring the woman; if the child proves to be uncooperative we will make an example out of her. I've found humans do not respond well to torture, as such it is not a viable option."

"More's the pity," said Streamline.

hr

Not good, not good, not good. That was the thought that went through Raf's mind as the two 'cons dragged Terra's truck off the road and slung the wreck behind one of the sandstone mounds that covered parts of the desert of Nevada. They had correctly assumed that not many humans would stop to search a bunch of random parts on the side of the road and left the debris where it lay. Starscream's hand tightened around his body and Raf felt a squeak force its way out of his vocal cords. The edges of Starscream's fingers were dangerously sharp, and had already left a few nicks in his clothing. It wouldn't take much pressure for them to sheer through flesh. Raf had thought the Decepticon second-in-command was going to cut him from head to toe when he'd adjusted his glasses for him. Even now after he'd heard how Starscream had some kind of plan in mind for him he felt like the back-stabbing seeker would disembowel him at any moment.

He had begged several times that his teacher be released, that she had nothing to do with anything that was going on. She had just been protecting him and she wouldn't say anything. All that happened with his pleas was he was forced to watch as Streamline questioned her upon the very thing he'd said she wouldn't do. Terra not only said she would come after him, but she promised a beaker of acid poured into the seeker's delicate circuitry for even laying eyes on Rafael. For all her bravado, Raf could tell she was afraid. She kept shaking and yelled whenever Streamline's talons tightened on her body. Raf wondered if she wasn't claustrophobic, that would certainly explain why she had such a big truck, or maybe he was over-analyzing. Surely that had to be it; he squeaked and squirmed every time Starscream so much as twitched.

"Enough," the SIC commanded, "the Autobots will not be looking for a vehicle when they find the boy missing. The foolish humans will simply believe there was an accident, and as it were, there was in a manner of speaking." Raf shivered as the 'con looked down at him with a crooked grin.

"Please, let her go, I'll do anything you want," Raf tried again to plead for his teacher's release. He tried showing he was willing to surrender by stopping in his struggling. The other Decepticon moved up to stand next to Starscream, looking down at the be-spectacled child.

"Yes, you will do what I want child," said Starscream. Raf felt his belly dropping into his feet at the way Starscream's optics traveled to the woman being held by Streamline. "You will do as I command, or your instructor will be instructed on the art of flying." The crimson eyes of the SIC turned and looked down at him again. Raf could feel his mouth drying in fear as he looked over at Ms. Akala.

"Don't listen to him Rafael," she said, her own eyes narrowed.

"Silence the creature," ordered Starscream. Slicing his hand through the air as Streamline watched his commander. "She need not speak on matters that do not concern her."

"At once, Commander Starscream," said the one named Streamline. Raf watched in horror as the second flier shifted his hold on his teacher. The armor of his chest region changing as it uncovered the canopy of its terrestrial guise. Raf knew what was about to happen, how many times had Miko snuck along with Bulkhead by riding inside a hollow space in his armor?

"In you go pet," Streamline said with a laugh. Rafael yelled and struggled against Starscream's hand watching as the second Decepticon inserted his hand into the open canopy and closed it on the unsuspecting woman.

"Let her out of there n-now! She'll s-suffocate if you don't!" He couldn't see her anymore, he couldn't hear her. Instead he watched as Streamline looked down at his mid-section and tapped at the area he'd just seen Ms. Akala vanish into.

"Don't worry imp, I've ventilated air in there for your friend," said Streamline, lowering himself down to look into Raf's eyes. "Though if she keeps up with that squirming I might cut it off until she goes into a forced recharge," he smirked and pointed a claw at Raf's chest, "how would you feel if I put a rat inside your chest and it was squirming around?" Streamline started to apply pressure with his sharp tip to Raf's chest until Starscream was forced to place his servo against Streamline's arm.

"Enough, I need the boy alive and healthy," he pushed the mech's servo away from Raf before looking down at the him. "Now where were we? Ah yes, if you don't do as I command, your teacher will be treated to a Decepticon flying lesson. Of course, the way we teach our fliers is to merely throw them off the bow of the Nemesis…"

Genius that he was, Raf didn't need to be smart to know that Starscream was not making an idle threat. He gazed through his glasses to where Streamline was standing next to him, where his teacher was placed inside of his armor. If he squinted he could just make out a slight bit of movement inside. He looked up at Starscream and nodded his brown hair adorned head watching the smirk grow on the Seeker's lip plates. Rafael turned his head away his eyes closing as Starscream walked further from the place they had hidden the wreckage of the truck.

"We will leave for the site immediately, upon arrival you will—" his words were cut short as a voice that made Raf shiver spoke.

"Starscream," the voice was commanding, thick with authority.

"Ah, yes Lord Megatron?" Starscream questioned, his talons tightening on Raf's body out of what could only be fear. Raf whimpered in pain as the sharp edges cut into his clothing again, nicking his skin. Starscream glared down at him for making any noise, but loosened his hold.

"Return to the ship immediately," Megatron ordered. Raf balked at the thought of being on board the Nemesis. "Do you understand Starscream?"

"Ah, yes, Master. Right away Lord Megatron," Starscream said, his communications link shutting off. Rafael looked between the two seekers, his glasses sliding down his nose before he straightened them again. If Miko were here, or even Jack, they'd make some quip about not being needed and how they could be on their way. Raf wished Jack were here, even Miko. He wasn't as brave as they were.

"It looks like we'll have to delay our plans," Starscream voiced, sounding as derisive as always towards his master. Raf could feel the claws around his body tightening as his captor turned to Streamline. "Take the humans back to the Nemesis, be discreet. Place them in cell block F-29c, leave them and return to your usual duties. We do not want the Vehicons interested in your activities in the brig."

"You seem quite confident that Soundwave himself won't find interest in my activities," Streamline said. Raf whimpered as Starscream held out his hand and deposited his frail form into the servo's of another Decepticon.

"The eyes and ears, yes, yes," Raf watched as Starscream waved his hand in the air, placing the other on his hip in a dismissive fashion. "Soundwave won't know what has happened until I am the celebrated war hero that delivered Optimus to Lord Megatron."

"Right, right," Streamline said as his fingers wrapped around Raf's body. The boy shivered almost preferring Starscream to be taking him. At least he was some-what familiar with the sinister Second in Command. This 'con seemed less disgusted with humans and dangerously interested in tormenting them.

"Let us be going then, before Lord Megatron becomes more impatient," Starscream ordered. With a graceful movement he leapt into the air and transformed with a whirr of moving gears and metal before blasting into the air. Raf looked up at the Seeker holding him now, and his crimson optics looked down at him a smirk crossing his face.

"Hold on, fleshy," said Streamline. Raf yelled in fright as he was suddenly moving through the air with no support, the whipping and movement of metal surrounding his body before a set of straps wrapped around his chest and yanked him back against a seat far too large for him. The G-forces hit his chest while Streamline blasted into the air after his Commander making Raf struggle for oxygen as his ribs compacted down on his lungs.

"Not so fast you fool, you'll injure the humans. Their pathetic little bodies cannot handle your speed," Starscream's voice shrieked in front of him. Raf tried to lean forward as the jet slowed down, gripping the back of the seat in front of him.

"M-Ms. Akala? Are you, are you alright?" Raf asked, feeling the breath coming back to his lungs. He reached his small hand forward and tried to shake her shoulder, but he got no response. He could see her hands digging into her knees, her fingers twitching as they moved against the denim of her pants. Raf looked up to where he knew her face would be if he could see it.

"Ms. Akala are you alright?" Raf asked again and was relieved when he saw her hands move. They relaxed even as he felt the belts tighten around his body and yank him back into the seat.

"Stop squirming," Streamline said. Raf flinched as he felt the Decepticon's voice reverberate all around him. "If you don't stop squirming when Starscream is done with you I will put a rat in you and see what you think, got it?" Raf sat back meekly in his chair, swallowing. and muttered 'uh huh' nodding his head. Even as he pushed his glasses back up onto his nose, for what felt like the millionth time in the last half hour, Raf felt his heart slamming against his chest as he looked out the canopy. He watched as the ground got further and further away and with a hard swallow he turned his head away; Raf wished he'd stuck to watching the ground disappear.

Ahead flew the ominous form of the Nemesis, the battle ship commanded by Megatron leader of the Decepticons. Its menacing form sent chills running down the small boy's back, goose flesh soon rose up on his skin as the pair of jets approached the landing bay and there, on the platform, stood the imposing form of Megatron himself.

Raf was jostled as Streamline shot straight up into the air with Starscream in a synchronized flight pattern. He heard a whimper from Ms. Akala in front of him as Streamline began to free fall down towards the deck before the warp and vibration of transformation encircled them both. Raf found himself pinned back-to-back with Ms. Akala sitting on hard metal. The seats and council that had been part of the cockpit had folded up into this strange metal containment unit. The straps still wrapped around their bodies as Streamline knelt in front of his leader kept them from falling forward, the tinted glass hid them from sight.

"Lord Megatron," said Streamline as he bent his knees and bowed before his Lord and Master. With a graceful movement he slid his hand in front of his cockpit window, helping to mar the view of the two humans further. He saw out of the corner of his optics as Starscream bowed and greeted the hulking figure with the same respects.

"Starscream, what were you doing in such a remote area?"

"Merely reconnaissance with our newly arrived ally, we made certain of his terrestrial guise. We were about to withdraw back to the Nemesis when we thought we had seen an Autobot, but it was merely a human look-alike with a vehicle similar to the build of Bumblebee."

"Is that true, Streamline?" Megatron's optics turned to look at the other Seeker, their crazed depths boring into him. Streamline chose his words carefully for indeed, Starscream had taken him for the intention of ensuring the proper operation of his vehicular form.

"Yes Lord Megatron. As it was I am not accustomed to the air patterns of this planet, and a simple flight ensured that I understood the proper movement of this primitive form," Streamline told the truth, though not all of it. Megatron had not asked if he had been doing anything else of interest.

"Soundwave informs me of your interest in the new human satellite, Starscream," said Megatron, returning his gaze to the Seeker Commandeer. "Do try not to do anything to compromise our cause. Streamline, you are dismissed."

"As you wish my Lord," said Streamline, leaving Starscream to deal with the Tyrant on his own.

hr

The halls of the Nemesis were long and Dark. Raf had never been on board by himself before and never solely in the hands of a Decepticon, or rather, in the belly of one. He could feel his teacher shaking behind him and he knew that his theory about her being Claustrophobic was a reality. The small space was frightening her, it was no wonder she drove such a large vehicle. She probably couldn't handle riding around in the smaller cars most of his other female teachers often preferred.

It didn't take long for him to lose track of where they were, he'd never been this deep into the bowls of the ship. When he was here with Jack, Arcee, Miko, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee to save Agent Fowler they'd been closer to the command deck. The further down they went, the darker it became until they came to a hall that was filled with doors.

"Ah, welcome to the Brig, Fleshies. I hope you enjoy yourselves. You'll remain here until Commander Starscream comes to fetch you," Raf shuddered as Streamline turned to one of the cell doors, opening it with a specific code and striding in.

With a hiss of movement the hatch of his cockpit slid open and the straps holding himself and his teacher captive whipped away from their bodies, catching Ms. Akala on the face with one of the buckles. Raf didn't have long to enjoy his freedom before Streamline reached in and snatched them both out from his own body.

"I do not mind transporting cargo," said Streamline as he knelt down; staring at the humans in his grip. "But I do mind transporting live creatures inside of my body. You did well not to squirm, so I will not make good on my threat… this time." Raf and his teacher both fell to the floor as Streamline dropped them. Standing and turning his back to them before the door hissed shut, a deep clicking filling the air as the locking mechanism was engaged.

Silence filled the air then followed by Raf's own labored and panicked panting. He pulled out his cell phone and attempted to contact Bumblebee's communicator. A sharp rattling buzz filled his ear as he pulled it close. Forced to pull it away quickly Raf realized that the Decepticon ship must be cloaked and isolated all radio waves just as the Autobot's base did.

"It's no use, I can't call for help," Raf said, turning to look at his teacher. "Ms. Akala… I'm sorry I got you into this. I didn't mean for…"

"Raf," said Terra, leaning against the wall with her hands and legs spread; sweat dripping from her forehead. "Never apologize for what others do." Raf blinked, looking and feeling confused when she turned towards him. "Those who do wrong are the only ones to blame, but they make you feel as if it's your responsibility. Never apologize for someone else's wrong-doings."

"But I," Raf started to stammer. He'd never been in this situation before; it was his fault wasn't it? "I shouldn't have gotten into your truck; I should have called for help then. I should have…"

"You should have been able to walk home, sit down, do your homework or watch cartoons. Played outside or just been a normal kid and fallen asleep right after classes let out." Her green eyes stared at him hard making Raf quiet down just a little.

"They are the ones who followed you, they are the ones who put you in danger, and I am the only one who decided to get myself involved. They were the ones who kidnapped us, together." She came over to him even as the light above them flickered. "It's not your fault."

Raf could feel his lip quivering. The tears stung at his eyes as he fell forward and wrapped his arms around his teacher's neck. His thin shoulders shook as he tried not to cry, he bit his lip to keep himself from whimpering, but when her arms wrapped over his back Raf couldn't stop himself. The tears ran hot, and the sobs hurt his ribs. All the while his teacher hummed quietly and brushed a hand through his hair just like his mama would saying soft nothings to help calm him down with her voice.

They were trapped and imprisoned on the Decepticon War Ship. The Autbots didn't know what had happened to him and Starscream would be coming back…

If Megatron didn't find them first.

~: To Be Continued :~


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The last thing Raf had remembered was falling asleep from the shock with Ms. Alaka's arm wrapped over his shoulders. He woke up to blurry vision and a jacket wrapped over his small body. Ms. Akala was still wide awake keeping watch with her eyes trained on the door. Raf rubbed at his eyes, wondering how long he'd been out. Ms. Akala looked down at him and offered out something to him which Raf discovered was his glasses. As soon as he put them on his vision cleared and he realized that what he had hoped was a nightmare was very much real.

"It's been three hours," Ms. Akala said quietly, keeping her arm wrapped around his shoulder for now. Raf was glad for it even if he was embarrassed. He slowly pushed himself up and shivered at the chill air.

"Aren't you cold Ms. Akala?" Raf asked sitting up and offering her jacket back.

"Remember I asked you to call me Terra?" she replied with a smile. Raf nodded, embarrassed, he had forgotten. "And no, you hold onto it. The cold in here doesn't really bother me. I grew up with a lot worse cold then this."

"Where did you grow up Ms — uh, Terra?" Raf asked, grateful for the distraction. He moved the jacket so it covered his arms. He was use to the heat of his desert home.

"Mmm, up north. Didn't stay in one place too long, but the winters up there got to forty degrees below zero, and colder than that sometimes that is if it didn't snow; it's always warmer outside when it snowed." Raf shivered with delight at the idea. He loved snow, he'd only gotten to see it once with Bumblebee, but that was after…

"Raf," said Terra making him look up at her at the suddenness of his name, "just how much trouble do you have with bullies?" Raf blinked and leaned forward to get a better look at his teacher's face. Why the sudden question? She must have seen his face because she shrugged and continued.

"You've obviously seen these things before so a smart person would guess that you know some of them, or am I wrong?" She turned to look down at him and he realized that she'd re-braided her hair after it'd been pulled on so harshly.

"No, you're right," Raf agreed nervously. He'd promised not to tell anyone about the Autobots, but it seemed now it didn't matter if he told Terra or not. When Jack had gone out street racing and Vince had gotten involved he'd been knocked unconscious by Knock Out so Jack was able to come up with a cover story. Terra, though, wasn't about to forget this. "I do know some of them, they're called the Autobots. The guys who took us? Well the one in charge of the other is Starscream, but he's only second in command. He's part of the Decepticons, and their leader is Megatron." Raf continued to explain the differences between the two, their home world of Cyberton, and then about who the Autobots were. Optimus, Arcee, Bulkhead, and of course Bumblebee, Raf went on to tell Terra that Bumblebee enjoyed spending time playing video games with him, how they went out for drives just to talk, and that Bumblebee always listened to him.

When Raf was done he was surprised to find Terra looking not quite as happy as he thought she would. Her expression changed as she leaned back and rubbed at her neck. Raf wondered what she was thinking about, whether she thought he was making everything up. He waited for a little longer until she finally turned to look at him.

"Well," she said, "if it weren't for the simple fact that my truck was wrecked, I stood in front of two of these beings, was captured, and now held captive by them I would tell you that you need to write your novel and publish it so you can easily pay your way through school… Sounds like you, Jack, and Miko have been through quite a bit."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Raf admitted rubbing the back of his head and smiling. "Mostly Jack and Miko though. I don't really get out much so I don't get to help out quite like they do."

"Hmm," Terra muttered, "maybe not in the same way, but I'm pretty sure that even Jack and Miko couldn't do the things you do." Raf realized that she was trying to boost his confidence, but it did the opposite. He hadn't meant to whine. Really he just didn't have the kind of 'stuff' it took to help the Autobots.

"Back to what I was asking, you have troubles with the older kids at school, what kind of trouble?" Raf fidgeted at her question, he didn't really want to talk about it because it seemed like talking to the teachers only made things worse. He looked up at Terra as she just watched him, waiting.

"I dunno," he said quietly, he fidgeted and looked down at his hands. When he looked back up Terra was jusft as patient as she had been before. Raf found himself wondering just how long she would wait for him to tell her, to talk to her about what was going on. "I don't think now is a very good time to talk about it…"

"I understand," she said, "it's not easy going to someone else for help, especially when it seems like the problem is only going to multiply."

"Oh, no, I meant that it's just not a good time," Raf said, looking around at the massive internals of the cell. "I mean, we're in a Decepticon holding cell…"

"Alright," Terra said before standing up and stretching. She arched her back until she'd bent all the way backwards and placed her hands on the floor. With a flex of her arm muscles she pulled her feet up and off the ground into the air and came down facing the front again. "Mmm, that's much better. So," Raf pushed himself up and held the jacket around his shoulders watching as his teacher approached the door of the cell.

"What are you doing?" He asked, trotting to catch up with her longer strides.

"Taking a look around," Terra answered him. "There's nothing better to do," Raf was about to agree when he heard the tell-tale sounds of steps beyond the doorway. He ran up to Terra and grabbed onto her arm, pulling on her arm.

"We've got to hide! Someone's coming," he said, but even as he said it and his eyes roamed around the cell Raf realized there was nowhere to hide. He started to shake with fear and looked up as he felt Terra moving. She'd bent down and was holding onto his arms; her thumbs rubbing against the sides of his shoulders.

"It's going to be alright Rafael," she said. Raf looked up into her eyes and heard the conviction in her voice. He nodded his head and stumbled as she moved him to the side of the cell, placing a hand on his chest to force him behind her legs. Raf wrapped a hand around her leg and clutched at the denim material and pulled the jacket more firmly over his thin shoulders.

The tell-tale hiss of the door slipping open and the following steps had Raf hiding further behind the courageous woman, hiding his face. He pushed his glasses up onto his nose he felt Terra pushing him back further. Raf felt her hand shaking on his chest, he could almost see the sweat bead up on her arm and he looked up confused.

"It's Soundwave!"

hr

The Communication's Officer was well aware of the human presence on board the Nemesis. He had monitored as Starscream and his Lord had immediately left the ship; Soundwave had sent a data burst of information to his master and Lord Megatron had agreed with his plan. For the time being, however, he would be outside of communication's range and thus it fell to the silent soldier to observe the human prisoners. At first they had reacted as he expected. Panic, fear, but it seemed the presence of the older human calmed the fears of the younger. Indeed the race's parental protocols were a thing of mystery; as the child was not biologically belonging to the female her reaction to him seemed extreme. She had allowed his lubricants to cover her shoulder and when the boy had fallen into the primitive form of recharge humans used she had removed her outer coverings to stabilize the human and put herself at risk for atmospheric damage; primarily the level of cold that often permeated the Nemesis.

The boy was quickly becoming dehydrated after he had allowed so much precious fluids to leak from his optics. This concerned the silent officer. The boy had proven to be not merely a risk, but an amusement and opponent for himself during his time upon the planet. Yes. He did relish a challenge and found the boy interesting. Should the child remain among the Decepticons Soundwave may inquire about the boy and request that he be given prerogative over the human's fate.

Such leisurely plans would need to wait. The boy was dehydrating at a rate that was unhealthy and though the female showed a surprising resilience to the cold her health too was deteriorating. Soundwave had begun a new file on the human female as he had files on each of the humans the Autobots had taken on. The Communication's Officer was one of the few Decepticons to acknowledge that the humans were not pets, but allies to the Optimus Prime and his soldiers. Indeed the human element was a factor in the war now.

It had taken him only a short time to produce the necessary items that the humans would be requiring. Human technology and even their necessities were so primitive that they could be reproduced en-mass, but he had little use for such quantities and collected only those items that would aid the pair for the time being.

Was he showing mercy? No, he was investing in an opportunity. Though Starscream's plan held many risks it did present a rare occurrence where the Autobots would be made helpless. After reviewing the vid feeds from the torture of Agent Fowler there was credence in not simply torturing the child, or his instructor, for the location of the Autobot base. Yes the older female could be tormented, caused pain, but though the boy would not suffer damage directly his mind could be hindered by the metal trauma of seeing another human slowly die before him. Indeed, the human mind was a fragile thing and if it was to be put to use more delicate equipment then an energon prod must be put to use.

These were Soundwaves thoughts as he approached the door to the cell. His mask blank until the proper codes scrolled across and were entered into the security system that held the door locked. Such a system was; what was the human term? Overkill for two such prisoners, but he suspected that Streamline had intended to keep prying vehicons from entering the cell and discovering his Commander's plan. Such codes fell before Soundwave's processor and he was admitted to the cell looking down immediately to the two organics who were now cowering to his side.

The female, as he had calculated, was standing in front of the boy. Obvious distress was etched into her features and as the scan had revealed her own body was deteriorating as quickly as the boy's, but she seemed to have the innate ability to disguise such things from others of her race.

"Soundwave," the boy said in astonishment. The silent mech looked down to the boy in a mere nod-like gesture. Indeed, the boy recognized him, but his designation meant little to the female. She had already pressed the boy back further. It amused the Communication's Officer to watch as the female drew herself up as if to make her visage look larger. Instincts he surmised. It was natural for any creature experiencing parental protocol to attempt to intimidate the creature or thing threatening its young. Admiration, yes that was the sensation he was gaining for the female. He weighed several tons and she was solely made of meat, bone, and liquids, but here she was threatening him with death if he should lay a single hand on the boy she was protecting. Of course, her threats were wasted on the impassive Communications Officer and as he stepped into the cell he moved to kneel down and reach for the boy with his thin digits.

The shout of indignation on the female's part at being pushed aside was not lost on him, but he was expecting her movement to push the boy aside. What he had not expected was the artful way the female avoided his grasping digits. With her hands planted on top of his primary digit, his index figure as the humans may call it, she allowed her legs to leave the ground and with her arms flexing under her weight twisted herself in a semi-circle coming down on the opposite side of his servo. She proceeded to once more stand in front of the boy with the joints of her legs bent in a position he was familiar with from the battles he had undergone; a ready position to quicken her reaction time. He collected this data and deployed his data-collecting tendrils towards the two. Indeed using his servos may well prove useless if the female was adept at avoiding him close range, but with the link-up cables that extended from the base of the tendrils she would be unable to avoid them all.

As always the Communication's Officer was correct. The female attempted to protect the child by twisting her body around in what he could only assume was an offensive attempt to keep his tendrils at bay. He felt the connection of her pede against the side of one and allowed for her to push it away, if he had not she would have damaged her leg. Indeed as he removed that tendril from her range the female now refused to place weight on the limb. A quick scan revealed that there was no injury, but the human's delicate frame in that area had been painfully jarred.

With a careful movement he brought the second of the two tendrils behind the female and this time she was unable to prevent him from clasping her body. The short cables wrapped around the female's chest cavity and pinioned her limbs to her side. The clasper claws at the end of the tendrils overlapped the cables to ensure a proper grip before he returned to the boy.

"Stop!" the boy yelled and Soundwave found the concern in the male's voice strange. He had not harmed the female. "You're hurting her, let her go?" Soundwave carefully wrapped his digits around the boy's abdomen before returning to full height. The pressure he used on the female was no different. There was no damage being placed upon her delicate frame. Indeed she was not acting entirely out of fear, anger also laced her movements as she struggled against his hold.

"She's claustrophobic!" the boy shouted, "please put her down," he continued to plead. Soundwave tilted his helm and examined the boy. It took only a swift sweep of his knowledge to understand what it was the boy spoke of. Indeed as he scanned the female's system he detected an elevated heart rate, the rapid breathing, moisture on the skin, and a mixture of the hormones cortisol and norepinephrine were released into her bloodstream. The center of the female's optics, the pupils, had dilated. Indeed the female was frightened far more by his encasing touch on her then the average human. Irrational fear, it seemed, was a plague on the species, but now his initial scan of her system had logic in it. He had detected the female excreting the stress hormone into her body at an expedient rate.

Soundwave returned his faceless gaze to the boy and paid little mind to the female's fear. It would cause her no permanent damage. Instead he began a proper inspection of the boy. Yes the security cameras in the cell could give him a diagnostic scan, but he would trust little to clumsy equipment that was far inferior to his own. The boy was in need of water and nutrients as was the female. With the replication capabilities of the ship he was able to provide their prisoners with both.

With careful and practiced ease the silent Decepticon inserted a needle into the arms of both humans. He had prepared a mixture of nutrients, such as amino acids, carbohydrates, minerals, proteins, and others necessary for human health, to be injected into their systems. It would take some time for their bodies to absorb the chemical mixture, but he was able to continue his work away from any computer council. The silent officer had tweaked the liquid so that it would also stimulate their own immune systems to begin repairing any damage that had been inflicted on them by Starscream's rough handling. The Seeker had never seen fit to understand that though this was a war, there was a certain protocol to be followed in the acquisition of prisoners of war.

And these were no more than children, yes; even the older female was akin to a child. For the vast years the Cybertronians had spent in their war, their lives, the human race was young. Tending to prisoners of their race then called for a certain amount of care which the Seeker had forgotten, or had simply been unwilling, to provide. Optimus Prime was not a Mech to be underestimated. If these humans were to work as pawns they must be in good health. Soundwave had once witnessed the wrath of the ancient archivist and it was a sight to behold. When the Well of Allsparks had gone out, when the last of the new generation had crawled from the life-giving source many had perished. No Cybertronian would forget that massacre for indeed massacre it was.

That day the Prime had been splendid in battle. Soundwave had observed as he did most things to provide intelligence to the other Officers of Lord Megatron's army. If he had met Megatron upon that field of battle the Communication's Officer knew the war would have ended with Lord Megatron speared through the chest plating with Optimus' blade slicing through the armor.

Now here, on this planet, there was a risk to awaken the ire of the Prime. He had taken under his protection human Sparklings and the Decepticons had no choice but to dance the fine line of using these Sparklings to their advantage without being slaughtered.

His visor returned to look down upon the pair of Organics as their faces remained contorted in discomfort. Soundwave knew with his scans that they were highly sensitive to the liquid being pumped into their bloodstream, that it was not a sensation they enjoyed. He had found it necessary to pinion the boy's arms in turn when he had attempted to remove the needle from his arm.

Sparklings, indeed.

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Raf rubbed at his arm where the needle had punctured his skin. He was feeling better. When he had demanded, no requested, to know what Soundwave was doing the dark 'con had displayed a nutrient rich formula along with several minerals and proper saline water content to assist their bodies and he did feel better. He'd then asked why Starscream had wanted them tended to, but with as shake of Soundwave's helm Rafael realized that the Second In Command of the Decepticons did not know that Soundwave had come to visit them.

Terra quickly agreed with a nod to Raf that they should not say anything to the unpredictable Seeker.

Following the injection he had proffered a single scrap of material, a blanket of sorts, to the boy and had removed Terra's jacket from his shoulders returning it to the older woman. It was very clear to Raf that the Mech did not want them to become sick or hurt. They were, after all, valuable hostages.

Once they had been once more placed on the floor Terra had come over to the boy, shaking and afraid, to check to make certain he hadn't been hurt. Raf was too busy watching Soundwave who was quietly observing the actions of the older female before nodding to them both and exiting the cell.

"So," said Terra. Raf looked up at her as she wrapped the blanket around his body, making sure to tuck it so that he'd be warm. "I'm going to assume that we should hide this when we hear the sounds of someone new approaching." Raf nodded his head and then noticed a strange little device attached to the blanket. He adjusted his glasses and carefully translated the meaning.

"He's already taken care of that, evidently all we need to do is remove this thing and it'll handle itself," Raf showed the strange little device and snuggled further under the blanket.

"Hmm," said Terra. Raf had a feeling that she wasn't completely convinced, or she was suspicious. That feeling soon became reality as she got up and moved around, stretching the arm that had the needle inserted into it. Flexing her fingers and checking the bruising on her arm she looked over at him. "I'm guessing that's not normal behavior?"

"I… I don't know," said Raf. "I've never been prisoner on board the Nemesis before so I don't know what their protocols are for tending to prisoners, but I'm guessing the only reason he did it is because of the Autobots."

"Right," distrust oozed from her voice as Terra once more explored the cell. Raf wasn't really sure what she was looking for and decided to sit down in a corner and wrap himself up. He'd gotten a bit chilled in Soundwave's hold for so long. He estimated that at least forty-five minutes had passed where they were dangling from his hands. It had taken that long, he assumed, to give them the solution he'd created. Raf was grateful the patient 'con had taken the time. He didn't like the idea of dealing with a burst vein.

"So, these friends of your you have a way of contacting them?"

"Yes, I have Bumblebee's comm. Frequency," Raf said, "but Starscream or Streamline, and now the ship have been blocking that signal and I don't think Starscream's going to let me call him whenever he comes for us."

"Mmm," a noncommittal answer, "I don't think, uh, Starscream intends to keep us here. He sounded like he wanted to take us to another location."

"That's right," said Raf, standing up, "So that means we won't be on this ship, but…" Raf looked down at his cell phone, "that still doesn't help us, I won't be able to call Bumblebee."

"I suspect not, Starscream will probably keep you busy with whatever he expects you to do, so I'll call," Terra said, returning to Raf's side. "Give me Bumblebee's frequency and while he's making you work I'll open up my line to him… they can track that can't they?"

"Of course they can!" Raf said, feeling rather indignant. The Autobots, or 'Cons for that matter, weren't just dumb robots. That should have been obvious by now.

"I didn't mean it that way," Terra said, holding up her hands. Her voice was a little harsh and Raf found himself looking away. "Oh, Raf, hon I'm sorry," she said and knelt down next to him. Raf could feel her arms encircling his shoulders. "I'm sorry I'm just a little out of my element. I'm not as young as you are so accepting something like this is…"

"It's okay," Raf said, looking up to her and smiling. "Agent Fowler is kinda the same way, but y'know, worse."

"Alright, but what do you think? I'm not quite up to par with you when it comes to technology or what your friends have available to them." She sat down next to him and Raf was quietly grateful for the closeness of her body. The warmth she was giving off was warming him up faster now that he had a blanket.

"Well," he started, "Bumblebee will have realized that I'm not home by now, he normally sends me a message after a mission. So that means that Optimus and Ratchet are going to be coming up with a plan to find me-us." He amended himself. "So that means that everyone will be on alert and if Bumblebee receives a random communication from one of my teachers and hears the 'cons on the other end he'll figure it out and tell Optimus and then Ratchet can trace your cell phone's signal." Terra proffered her cell phone and Raf was quick to type in the twenty-five digit code that would link her phone to Bumblebee's communications frequency. The be-speckled boy offered the phone back and she placed it in her pocket.

"Good, but I need you to promise me something," Raf looked up at her and saw her watching him. Her words were… well, he just didn't like the sound of them. "You need to promise me you'll do what I'm about to tell you."  
"I… I don't know," Raf said nervously. He didn't like how she looked so sad.

"Promise me Raf," she said seriously. "Being a teacher doesn't just mean that I'm here to pass on knowledge, it's also my job to protect you. Now you need to promise."

"A-alright," he said, nervously, "I promise."

"Good, now Raf? I don't want you to do anything he tell you to."

"Wh-what? But he'll kill you if I don't, he'll—"

"That doesn't matter Raf," Terra said and Raf felt like someone had put a rock in his belly. "What matters is that you stay safe. They won't hurt you because you're the one they need. The only reason that I'm involved is to be used against you. They're going to threaten to hurt me, they probably will when you start saying no, but you can't do it. Do you understand?"

"N-no," Raf stammered. How could she be telling him this? To his shame he felt tears pricking at his eyes. He'd only just met her, but she was already willing to do this for him? "Why—"

"I told you," Terra said, "being a teacher? It's more than just passing on lessons to the next generation. Teachers, no, adults are there to protect children. It's my job to protect you, not the other way around and you will not blame yourself for that, do you understand me?" Raf hesitated, trying to wipe away the tears and keep his breath even. "I asked if you understood me Rafael Esquiville. It's my job to get you home safe to your mother, father, and the rest of your family." Raf could feel himself start to hiccup. It was like she was putting a burden on his shoulders while at the same time taking one off.

"I… understand," he said. Terra nodded her head and then pulled on his shoulders. Raf snuggled up against her and tried not to cry. Their moment like this was short-lived as he heard the sound of two sets of pedes, this time, approaching the door. Terra reacted faster than he did and pulled the blanket off his shoulders as the locking mechanism clicked open. With a quick ripping motion she pulled the device off the blanket and he watched, amazed, as it fell apart into so much fine dust that matched the rest of the dust in the cell.

"Time to go, kiddies," came the sickening voice of Streamline as the Seeker stepped into the cell. "You've got work to do four-eyes, and remember our little discussion. If you don't do exactly as we want your instructor is going to be treated to a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn how to fly from Commander Starscream and myself."

Raf looked up at his teacher who had placed her hand on his shoulder and swallowed against the rising panic in his chest… he hoped the Autobots would find them before that happened.

~:To Be Continued:~


End file.
